Patriot gets OK to resume its operations

By David Skolnick | July 4, 2012 at 12:09a.m.

WARREN

A ruling by the Ohio Environmental Review Appeals Commission will allow Patriot Water Treatment, shut down since April 1, to reopen for business.

The commission ruled Tuesday against the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, which prohibited the city of Warren from accepting any wastewater from Patriot, which treats lower-salt-content water generated from fracking. The water treated by Patriot was discharged to Warren’s treatment facility.

Fracking is a process in which water, chemicals and sand are blasted into rocks thousands of feet below the ground to unlock natural gas and oil.

Andrew Blocksom, Patriot’s president, said the company was “grateful” that the commission “took the time to really evaluate all of the evidence and the applicable law. We have always known that we have the truth on our side and that, eventually, someone would take the time to hear us out.”

The Vindicator was unable to obtain a comment late Tuesday from officials with the EPA’s Northeast Ohio office.

The commission ruled that the state EPA overstepped its regulatory authority based on a policy change, and that the agency had no claim that the company’s or the city’s activities caused any water-quality concerns, according to a Tuesday statement from Patriot.

In an April letter, EPA officials wrote that the agency changed the permit regulations because of a state law ensuring compliance with water-quality standards of nearby states. Because the Mahoning River flows into Pennsylvania, which has different water-quality standards, the EPA determined it could change permit regulations.

“We are pleased that the court recognized the Ohio EPA had no claims of any water-quality issues,” said Tom Angelo, Warren’s director of water-pollution control.

Blocksom said the company is “eager to get our business back up and running.”

The case went to the commission, based in Columbus, after Judge Andrew Logan of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court decided March 20 to grant the EPA’s request for dismissal in its case against Patriot.